Class 07 U. Va in Context

ARCH 416

Spring 15

Thomas Jefferson, Monticello,

comparison with Chiswick House

Villa Almerico (begun 1567)

comparison with Palladio, Villa Almerico

compare siting and elevation

University of Bologna (1088)

• Many universities predate the nations in which they are currently located.

• University of Bologna was founded during the Holy Roman Empire (later, Italy).

University of Oxford (1096)

• England

• No clear founding date, but scholars were present as early as 1096.

All Souls College, Oxford

Christchurch College, Oxford University

quadrangle completely enclosed

aerial view, showing part of Oxford University

University of Salamanca

• 1134

• Kingdom of Léon

• (later becomes Spain)

University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain

Library Interior, University of Salamanca

University of Cambridge (1209)

• England

• This is where John Harvard went to school.

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, England

Kings College, Cambridge University, England

oldest universities in North America

• Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo (1543)

• NAUM (University of Mexico), Mexico City, (1551)

• Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (1587)

oldest universities in USA

• Harvard College (1636)

• The College of William & Mary (1693)

• Yale College (1701)

• University of Pennsylvania (1740)

• Princeton College (1746)

• King's College (1754)

Harvard College

• Founded in 1636 and named for its first donor, the Reverend John Harvard, graduate of Cambridge.

• Charter dates to 1650.

• Training undergraduates for the ministry. Later a college of medicine (1782), then law (1816) and divinity (1817) were added at the graduate level.

Charter of Harvard College, 1650

The Charter of the President and Fellows of Harvard College,under the seal of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, and

bearing the date May 31st, A. D. 1650

Whereas, through the good hand of God, many well devoted persons have been, and daily are moved, and stirred up, to give and bestow, sundry gifts, legacies, lands, and revenues for the advancement of all good literature, arts, and sciences in Harvard College, in Cambridge in the County of Middlesex, and to the maintenance of the President and Fellows, and for all accommodations of buildings, and all other necessary provisions, that may conduce to the education of the English and Indian youth of this country, in knowledge and godliness: It is therefore ordered, and enacted by this Court, and the authority thereof, that for the furthering of so good a work and for the purposes aforesaid, from henceforth that the said College, in Cambridge in Middlesex, in New England, shall be a Corporation, consisting of seven persons, to wit, a President, five Fellows, and a Treasurer or Bursar:

Massachusetts Hall, 1720

Massachusetts Hall, 1720

• nice digs: designed for 64 students, with 32 bedchambers and 64 private studies

• during Revolutionary War, Continental Army was quartered here

• they stripped the building of trim and hardware

• http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/colonials-patriots/sitec15.htm

The Case of Virginia: first try

• Virginia Company of London tried to establish a "university" at Henrico on the James River (about twelve miles below what is now Richmond) in 1619.

• The Indian uprising of 1622 and the revocation of the Virginia Company charter in 1624 intervened.

The Case of Virginia: second try

1691 Reverend James Blair, representative of the Church of England in Virginia, was sent to London by the General Assembly to secure a charter for a college.February 8, 1693, King William III and Queen Mary II granted a charter which established "a certain Place of universal Study, a perpetual College of Divinity, Philosophy, Languages, and other good Arts and Sciences, consisting of one President, six Masters or Professors, and an hundred Scholars more or less."

The Case of Virginia: second try

• Named for royal patrons

• Charter designated Blair as the first president and provided an endowment to support the institution.

• Three schools created.– Grammar School: boys 12-15 years old

– Philosophy school: advanced study of moral philosophy (logic, rhetoric, ethics) and natural philosophy (physics, metaphysics, and mathematics).

– Divinity School, where young men who had completed their studies in the philosophy school could be prepared for ordination in the Church of England.

Wren Hall

• Dec 1693: 330 acres of land purchased• 1695: construction begins• 1700: east and north wings completed• Called “The College,” this was simultaneously

student dormitory, classroom building, dining commons, library, and faculty housing. Even the housed students and contained classrooms, a dining room, a library, a faculty room, and living quarters for the president and masters; a kitchen and servants' rooms were located in the basement..

Wren Hall, street side (1695-1700)

Sir Christopher Wren did NOT design this building, but the name stuck.

Wren Hall, back

Wren Hall, aerial

Wren Hall, afterlives in function

• 1699 colonial capital moved from Jamestown to Williamsburg

• The Wren Building, then the largest structure in the area, became the main govt building from 1700 until 1704, when the Capitol was completed.

Wren Hall: afterlives in disaster

• 3 major fires: • 1705: Accidental fire began in a

basement in the North Wing. Reconstruction completed by 1716 with partial funds from Queen Anne.

• 1859: After 2d fire, rebuilt in fashionable Italianate design.

• 1862: Intentionally set by Union troops during the Civil War.

• Each reconstruction incorporated the surviving exterior walls, but the overall look of the building has varied considerably over time

Wren Hall in 1859

Connecticut Hall (1750-2)

Located on Yale’s Old Campus, its design was based on Harvard’s Massachusetts Hall. Money to fund its construction was obtained through the sale of a French ship, captured during King George’s War.

James Gamble ROGERSYale University, Sterling Memorial Library, exterior, window detail, 1930

James Gamble Rogers (1867-1947) Yale University, Sterling Memorial Libraryinterior, main hall

James Gamble ROGERSHarkness TowerYale University1931